multiroom setup with Naim and Marantz ?

Posted by: stevot on 29 August 2018

Hi,

I have an ND5-XS in my main listening room. In the kitchen we have a Marantz unit (M-CR610) with built in streamer (plus CD and DAB which we use). Both of them can see my ripped music running from Minim server on a Synology NAS. I can use Tidal on both, either via the Naim app or via airplay (not version 2) from an iPad. So all's good, I have access to all my music in both rooms.

What I'd like to be able to do now is have a multiroom setup to play the same source on both at the same time. Running RCA cables from the ND5-XS to the Marantz would do it I guess, but there's too many walls to go through for it to be practical (or aesthetic). So I really need a network based solution.

I'm struggling to work out how I might do this. I have firmware version 4.6 on the ND5-XS so can use multiroom. However it doesn't find the Marantz. Can anyone suggest a way to do this, other than buying another Naim streaming product, say the Uniti (or Uniti Qute plus CD player)? I can't really justify the cost of that since the quality of the kitchen setup is limited by cheap speaker cable hidden in the ceiling (in hindsight a bad decision made 12 years but not one I can change now).

Thanks for any advice,

Cheers,

Steve

Posted on: 29 August 2018 by ChrisSU

These streamers run proprietary software which only works with other devices of the same brand, you can't mix them and get multiroom functionality. One possible solution would be to put an Airport Express near your ND5XS and connect it with an optical cable. This would give it Airplay, so if you can find a way to play your music files, say on a Mac computer, you could play them to both streamers.

Alternatively, get a Muso QB for the kitchen - they can sound surprisingly good.

Posted on: 29 August 2018 by stevot

Hi,

I thought that might be the case, thanks for clarifying.

I did wonder about pushing the content from an iPad/macbook. However the marantz doesn't have airplay 2, which as I understand is what I need to play to multiple devices at the same time. I've also tries pairing two bluetooth devices to the MacBook but can't get it to work. Even if I did I don't know if the signal would always be strong enough :-(

Steve

Posted on: 30 August 2018 by ChrisSU

You do not need Airplay 2 to stream from a Mac in multiroom, so your Marantz would be OK. You would just need to connect an Airport Express to your ND5XS to give it Airplay, and you would have a multiroom setup. For best sound quality, I would still be inclined to use UPnP to the Naim streamer as you are now, but if the multiroom function is more for background music, Airplay should work.

Posted on: 30 August 2018 by stevot

I can't manage to stream to two Airplay 1 devices at the same time, but maybe if an Airport Express is working off Airplay 2 then it would work... But that's still more expensive than I really want.

After more reading It seems as though Chromecast Audio will do the job, and at that price it's certainly worth a go I think.

Posted on: 30 August 2018 by ChrisSU

Note that I said "from a Mac", it won't work with iOS devices unless everything is Airplay 2 compatible (which an Airport Express is not.) You can still use the Apple Remote app on iOS for control, but you must play from a Mac, not an iPhone or an iPad.

Posted on: 30 August 2018 by stevot

Sorry, should've been clearer, I was meaning from a MacBook Air, using system preferences -> sound. It just flips between the two. Do you know if there is somewhere else to configure it or would I need to use iTunes ?

Posted on: 31 August 2018 by ChrisSU

stevot posted:
Sorry, should've been clearer, I was meaning from a MacBook Air, using system preferences -> sound. It just flips between the two. Do you know if there is somewhere else to configure it or would I need to use iTunes ?

Yes, I imagine you would need to point iTunes at your music library. (I'm not sure if other music software is able to use Airplay on a Mac as I've never tried?)

Posted on: 31 August 2018 by stevot

I don't use iTunes. Tidal produce an app but that just uses the general system sound settings. I haven't streamed from the MinimServer using the MacBook so don't know what I would use if I had to do it. McConnect-lite works well on an iPad, and does support Chromecast I read. Guess I'll find out. Cheers

Posted on: 31 August 2018 by H2S

+1 for Chromecast. I have a Chromecast 'Audio' plugged into the back of my N272 in the living room and a Chromecast 'video' plugged into a Pioneer AV Amp in the Family room to create a 'Homegroup' managed by my Google Home app on the iPad. This gives me well-synched Tidal multi-room with no apparent latency. If I use Spotify instead of Tidal I can control the arrangement verbally using nothing more than a Google home mini 'Smart' speaker. This was a very low outlay for me as this kit is discounted quite heavily these days - certainly here in Australia.

Posted on: 10 October 2018 by stevot

Taken me a while to get sorted, but it's a +2 for Chromecast Audio. Was little bit fiddly to set up a group on the iPad compared to an Android phone (kept on losing one of the devices) but seems stable now.

I've also bought a Chord Hugo and plugging the Chromecast into that via optical works really well - massively improves the sound from the Marantz over the in built CD. But the Chromecast works fine straight into the Marantz as well. So overall very happy. Cheers